“There are hard ways to get attention, and there are easy ways. The hard ways are more meaningful, but almost by definition they are more scarce and harder to generate.
The easy stuff on the other hand is just that.. easy. Just do something shocking/offensive/base. It is basically how one got attention in middle school. At some point when people’s desire to get the attention outweighed their need to express themselves in an authentic voice, they decide to become a shock jock.”

The shock jock metaphor is apt, but I actually think the truth is even worse. The Internet is a rage virus.

The other day, I read a Facebook post that was a poorly researched takedown of one of my personal heroes. As I read this witch’s brew of half-truths and innuendo, I found myself filling with outrage, breathing hard, and leaning into the keyboard, ready to vent.

That’s when I realized the danger we all face. The rage virus is even worse than the shock jock for two reasons:

1) It’s infectious. The rage virus turns the people it touches into fellow zombies, seething with anger.

2) It’s mindless. Bad enough that folks turn into shock jocks to get attention; at least those folks have a motivation. But Internet outrage isn’t even conscious. We read, and like the old Human Torch, we flame on.

There’s no secret cabal to blame, no villain to defeat. The virus is in us. And the only cure is to do what I did–step back from the keyboard and go for a walk until I could calm down.

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VP Enterprise Marketing for PBworks, first investor in and previously interim CEO of Ustream.TV. Chris is an active angel investor and the founder and Chairman of the Harvard Business School Technology Alumni Association (HBSTECH). Chris earned two degrees from Stanford University and an MBA from Harvard Business School. His personal blogs are Adventures in Capitalism and Ask the Harvard MBA.

2 responses to “The Internet is a Rage Virus”

Hahaha. Chris, you have a good point. I also think that why some people do outrageous things to get attention is because they can hide behind their computers, online bravery I call it. I try not to allow those types of opinions get to me. I enjoyed reading this.

Agreed, well said. Anonymity is key to the rage fuel. I compare it to what a person is willing to do in traffic provided they can remain anonymously in their car. Some person driving violently and swearing at you becomes the timid kitten if you happen to pull into the same gas station a mile up. My experience has been that they are reluctant to even look at you much less engage in conflict. But from the safety of their car (or online cocoon) with no fear of reprisal? Brace yourself for the intoxication of anonymous rage.
Same reason a person cheers on a fight when in a crowd, but would never be so bold if they were the sole onlooker, imo.